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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. face — to point toward
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. can — to be able to
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. drill — a practice
  8. field — for sport
  9. face — to confront
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. face — part of the head
  12. can — a tin
  13. field — a subject
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. drill — army training
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. chair — a leader
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. can — a tin
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. drill — the tool
  24. bark — to shout

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com